Chained with Hearts
by Crow-the-Red
Summary: Not that long since I was that naive kid. Not like I am now. When I want something, I get it, and as many people know, if I don't recieve it, someone gets hurt. Heheh, but you know...some things are a little harder to obtain than others.
1. Chapter 1

_Dear Danny,_

_I know things have been rough for you these past few weeks, but you're strong, and you can get over them. I'm already headed to college, so I won't be there for your first day of being a junior in high school. You're a bright, intelligent young man, and whatever happens, I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what the circumstances._

_You'll never be alone, little brother. Sam, Tucker, and I all love you so much. I'm sorry I can't be there to see you smile when you walk with them into the school. But I know that you'll be okay; you've never failed yourself, even if you may think so._

_Well, it's time for me to leave. Have a good year at Casper High, Danny. I'm sure you will do your best, and I look forward to seeing your face in the newspaper when you save the town once again. Remember: no one can stop you from doing what you believe is right._

_I cannot describe in words how much I feel for you, little brother. But hopefully, these three can explain enough: I love you._

_~Jazz, your big Sis_

I snorted in disgust at the charming letter and crumbled the light blue piece of paper in my hand, squeezing it until it was nothing more than a small ball. I shot the unwanted love into the trash can stationed in the corner of my room as I kicked off my neon green converse and flung them onto the floor, ignoring the fact that it was messy enough.

I couldn't believe Jazz still thought I was that naïve, wimpy little brat I was when I was fourteen. She had completely ignored all the signs I had given her that I didn't want any of her stupid mushy shit anymore.

I rolled my eyes as I stood up, walking to my desk and stepping over the multiple bags of chips and cans of soda that littered the ground. I climbed into the welcoming embrace of my favorite place: the computer, and grinned as I opened up the google chrome window that shone the familiar dim light of the screen onto my face.

The mouse scrolled down as I picked from my bookmarked sites the one I visited most frequently, and the one that I also kept the most secretive. My little haven of gay pornography. It hadn't been until I was about fifteen when I had finally realized that girls just weren't my thing; I had tried dating my former gothic friend, Sam, but that turned out to just make things more awkward than they already were.

I had kept my little secret to myself, and no one knows about it except me; even Jazz, who never ceases to invade my personal space, isn't in on it. It gave me something to look forward to when I fell asleep at night, and it gave me the feeling that I was unique, even though most people thought it was wrong.

I had managed to not even let it slip into the school gossip, which was quite an accomplishment since those cheerleaders can find out almost anything about anyone. Which reminded me: the first day of school was tomorrow, and I still needed to go to the mall to pick out an outfit. Mom and Dad said they would let me go by myself if I promised not to spend over fifty bucks. Psh. Fuck them.

Instantly getting out of the mood at the idea of having to get up early in the morning and go into the crowded halls of Casper High, I turned off my laptop and sighed, putting my hands up to my forehead and rubbing my temples in a calming motion.

Nothing was like it used to be when I was fourteen; everything had changed, like some kind of alternate universe had merged with ours. After saving the world from the 'disasteroid', my life—er, half life—turned upside down. Sam had kissed me! At that moment, I thought things were going to turn out perfect, like in the story when the hero gets the girl and leads a wonderful life. Not quite.

I had always pretended to go along with Sam's little fantasy of being my boyfriend, but when she had kissed me, the sky had felt like it was falling down on me, as if some god were punishing me for something I didn't do.

That was the way it went for a few months; Sam bragging and showing me off to people who didn't care that we were together, and had more important things to think about. I was one of those people. Eventually, I had just cracked one day when we were watching a movie together at her house.

I knew that me 'dumping' her had broken her heart, but I really could care less about her girl problems and social status. I needed to worry about so many things that she couldn't even comprehend. Like, for instance, being half ghost and protecting the town of Amity Park, or making sure that I didn't get killed when Dash had a bad day and decided to take it out on me.

Girls were just so hard to understand…so complicated and confusing, like if you do one thing wrong, they hold a grudge against you forever. Sam had gotten mad at me when for Christmas I bought her a gothic leather glove, even though I thought she would love it. Turns out she threw it away because it was made of leather and it 'just wasn't fair to the poor animals'. God.

I rolled my eyes and once again got up, deciding to get ready to go to the mall and get the whole shopping ordeal over with before my parents got mad at me for not buying a new outfit. Taking a minute to stretch and crack my back—damn, that felt good—I couldn't help but wonder what the next day would be like. I had a strange gut feeling that it wasn't going to go well.

I ignored it and rummaged my hand around in my closet, finally settling on a black long sleeved tee with a white skull on it, accompanied by some ripped and rather worn blue jeans. I quickly ran a brush through my shaggy black and neon blue streaked hair, remembering when I had first gotten it done and grinning; I always loved the punk look.

After cleaning my two spiked ear studs, I slipped on some comfortable buckled combat boots and grabbed the Fenton Thermos, shoving it into the midnight black bag I always carried around.

I closed my eyes and felt relief wash over me as two common white rings passed over my body, sending a wave of cool, icy pleasure to shoot through my veins. As time went by, my ghost half had become more and more welcoming. It was as if there was something waiting for me; waiting for me to know that everything was a dream, and that the only way I would ever feel truly _alive_…was to be dead. With every month that passed, the ghost zone pulled me closer to its eerie confines, eager to make me experience the love that was death.

But it wasn't the time to be thinking about morbid things like that - I had a mall to get to. I became intangible, finding it easy to phase through the floor of my room and into my parents'. With absolutely no second thought, I floated over to my mom's dresser, opened the drawer that was closest to the top, and shuffled my hand around inside until I pulled out her wallet.

I took some twenties and stuffed them into my bag, placing the leather object back inside the dresser, and then grinning. It was always so funny to take things from my parents, because they would never suspect their 'loving, innocent' little Danny would ever dream of stealing from them. I supposed that keeping up the 'wonderful and honest' son act for such a long while had its benefits, such as having no one suspect me of plucking something from right under their noses.

I chuckled and shot out of the window, smirking as I felt the crisp fall wind push back my silver and black dyed hair. I had gotten bored of just the plain white, so I got Sam to give me some twilight streaks in my ghost half's hair, along with the electric blue ones in my human form's.

I sighed contently when I passed through a cloud, letting its slightly refreshing mist encase me in a blurry, cream-colored smoke. When I was once again blasted by the sun's bright light, I shook my head to clear the last of the wispy material and continued on, feeling lighter and happier than I had been the past few weeks.

Sometimes I just wanted to get away from it all; to act like everything was like it used to be, and that every day I would get to punch a ghost in the gut, then hang out with Sam and Tuck at the Nasty Burger without worrying that the Goth would ignore me. But of course, nothing in the world was that easy. As much as I hated to admit it, it was just like Jazz said: when you make decisions, you have to live with them, no matter what you really want to do.

I thought back and remembered what was probably the stupidest and worst decision in my entire life. It was when I stuffed Dan Phantom back inside the Fenton Thermos and left him with Clockwork. It was just beyond a blundering mistake; if I would have just let him get the explosion over with, maybe I could have convinced him to train me, or perhaps even take me on as an apprentice so that I could control my powers better. Even though Vlad had offered me that very same option when I met him, I sensed the obvious difference in power between Dan and the half ghost billionaire.

Yes, Vlad has had over twenty years to perfect his powers and put them to good—or, in his case, bad—use. I know he is quite strong, and I recall how intimidated I was by him whenever I would battle him, even though I never showed it. But compared to my alternate, evil self, he is a weak and pathetic excuse for a villain. Dan is a full ghost, and therefore retains the ability to continue to learn new abilities, unlike us hybrids that get to a certain point where their human half cannot contain the amount of skill it takes to hold them any longer. When you are a full ghost, things become much clearer because of the fact that you can never _really _die, contrary to popular belief.

And Dan is a great deal stronger than even the most famous of ghosts, despite what many people think. But of course, there's a reason for that. As I already know, human-ghost hybrids are the rarest among rare of specters, with only three in the history of the world. The first being Vlad, the second being myself, and the third being the clone Vlad created that was modeled after me, named Danielle, or Danni. Ever since the beginning of the summer, I've been researching hybrids and how their DNA is different from normal human and ghost DNA, and exactly what their limits are and how I can overcome them. Danielle was more than willing to let me take a blood sample from her, though Vlad's was a little more difficult to obtain. I eventually had to use a ghostly wail to knock him out and get a vial of blood, and it was a small amount. And then I took my own. I even managed to extract a few drops of Dan's ectoplasm from my suit, though it took more than a week to carefully put the cells, one by one, into blobs that were big enough to study; it reminded me of a jigsaw puzzle.

I compared all four of the samples to each other multiple times, and came to a startling conclusion. Because of the fact that there is both ectoplasm and human blood running in a hybrid's circulatory system, the heart is much stronger and able to take much, much more damage than a normal heart. In every single cell running through a hybrid's body, the wall is multiplied more than ten times thicker, causing the cells themselves to take lethal doses of drugs, alcohol, poison, or physical damage that an average human would die from, and make it little more than a small sting.

That being said, a hybrid will exist almost for fifteen times longer than a human, and more than ten times longer than a normal ghost. Yes, ghosts do eventually perish. Every time they attack, or obtain an injury, they use up some of the ectoplasm in their body; when it is gone, they are reduced to a pile of ash. But hybrids have blood as well as ectoplasm, so our attacks are even more powerful and do not use up as much energy or stamina. And even though Dan got rid of his human half a long time ago he had already mastered his powers, and therefore still has all of the abilities that hybrids have, though he is a full ghost. That is why Dan is underestimated by almost all ghosts. I'm sure that if he wanted, he could break out of the Thermos anytime. But that's what I admire about him; his self-control. He knows that if he breaks free, Clockwork will just alter the time line so that no harm will come to the human world; in other words, Dan would just end up back in the Thermos. He is able to free himself...

He's just waiting for the right time.

"Ugh…" I groaned as I felt an incoming headache; I put a hand to my head and frowned when a dull pounding thumped against my glove.

'I must have been thinking too hard…man, I really am dim…' I thought steamily, my already bad mood becoming even worse as I reflected on the rather idiotic mistakes in my short life. I may have been only sixteen, but dammit, it was hard to live happily when your parents are trying to murder you and you have to save the world almost every other week.

I sighed in frustration, my spectral tail twitching in annoyance, as I realized how very stupidly I had acted up until that point. I had actually once believed that I could stop all ghosts from causing harm in the human world; what a laughable theory. There are hundreds of billions of ghosts in the ghost zone, and of course I can't be all around the world at one time, for even though I trained daily, I could only produce a couple hundred clones, and that's not even a thousandth of what I would need to halt all paranormal activity.

Even if I managed to split into that many clones—which is impossible—my powers and strengths would be divided by so much that I probably wouldn't be able to take even one ecto-blast before I got knocked out. I simply didn't understand why I used to be so…so….well, so dumb.

But as expected, I didn't learn all I knew in one night. It took me nearly two years of spying on Vlad when he was in his lab, stealing his notes and papers, and exploring and taking data from the ghost zone to obtain this information. And I still have so much more I need to know if I am ever to become powerful enough to beat Clockwork and release Dan, because there's no way in hell that that old coot would let me take him away without a fight. Some shit about it 'not being the right way to handle the time and space that controls the alternate worlds'. Or something like that, anyways.

Then again, I did have some information on Clockwork that would eventually make up for my mistakes; through my...research...I found out that the master of time has been hiding something pretty damn powerful; well, besides Dan, anyways. Turns out that Clockwork created some kind of collar that can latch onto a human, and the ghost that owns the collar can will the human to do whatever he wants. I'm sure there was a catch to this fact, but whatever. I didn't really know what made that collar work, but I knew that I wanted it. And as everyone is aware of, what I want, I get...or else.

As I flew, an idea slowly made its way into my brain. One last day of summer break; why not end it with a bang? I wanted that collar, and I could get it, seeing as how it would be easy to slip into the ghost portal while it was dark. No one would find out...and if they did...well, hehe, they would regret it not long after. All it would take was a little patience, timing, and stealth; nothing too complicated for me. After my trip to the mall, just wait for nightfall, slide into the ghost zone, steal the collar from Clockwork, and end it. Perhaps I would even take the Thermos that Dan was in, just for the hell of it.

A yawn escaped my lips and my half-lidded eyes narrowed when I spotted the mall beneath me. The thing about the mall is that the only good place to transform was behind an old oak tree in front of the entrance. Right. In front. Of the frickin' entrance.

I shut my eyes and tried to become as intangible as I could, because as I had gotten more powers, my basic powers like invisibility, ecto-blasts, and weak shields were getting less easy to handle. Hoping to whatever entity that lived in the sky at that moment that I wouldn't be seen, I opened my eyes and shot downwards, dodging a few squawking gray doves and mocking birds as I made my way towards the tree.

Passing lightly through the gold and crimson autumn leaves, I landed silently on the crackly brownish grass and brushed my suit free of some remnants of a clingy cloud.

I once again smiled as white rings revealed my human half, and I absentmindedly ran some fingers through my streaked hair. I really did love that punk look; I guess I always did, but then again, I was never very bold. It took quite a while for Sam to convince me that I would look totally awesome, and I had to admit; I believed her.

Shifting the black bag that was over my shoulder and tightening my boots, I walked out from behind the fall-stricken oak and gazed upon the mall and its entirety. Because of the fact it was early evening on Sunday, I spotted many teens and girls and boys holding hands, and parents leading their children to and from their cars in the parking lot. Man, I was so lucky I could fly.

I chuckled and pushed myself up the steps that led to the main opening of the giant shopping complex, taking a second to look at my reflection in the glass of the doors and fix my hair a little before pushing them.

I was instantly blasted with an ambush of voices, booming music, footsteps, and the sounds of multiple cell phones beeping or emitting ring tones. I had to blink several times before the blurs of colors and mix of noises and voices registered in my mind. I really hated going to the mall; it was much too busy and full of people who had nothing better to do than walk around and buy things with money they probably didn't even earn themselves. Not that I was one to talk; I _was _the person who just stole over a hundred bucks from his own mother.

It took a few minutes for a clearing to finally appear and I took it, slipping in between a pudgy woman wearing much too tight of a blouse and a tall man wearing a business suit who had a cell phone to his ear. I ignored the fact that I had bumped right into the woman's rear and rolled my eyes as I continued on, pretending like I didn't hear the faint, "Perverted young man!"

Seriously, women were so vain. Almost as much as Vlad...almost.

I snickered and went on slipping and bending my way through the crowd of people that varied from hippies with rainbow peace headbands to teen girls with skin-tight spaghetti straps. Sometimes I wondered why the hell these people even bothered to take their time to drive here when they were just going to be bombarded by others who had done the same.

I shrugged to myself and breathed in relief as the hustle and bustle gradually thinned out when the wide expanse of the mall's main lobby came into view. It was basically a giant circle outlined with many popular stores, most of them being for teens and young people. The adults usually shopped on the other side of the mall, where Bells and K-mart and Sears were located; they could be so boring.

I immediately walked into the closest and one of my favorite stores: Hot Topic. God, I could _live _in that place. Whether it was my birthday, Christmas, or some stupid holiday that no one cared about, I always got something from Hot Topic; the things there were so...original. It gave me a sense that I was unique in my own special way...you know, besides the whole 'being half ghost' thing.

I stepped into the haven of black, neon, and metal, inhaling the sweet smell of midnight roses, which was the special perfume that they used to make the store seem more…well, awesome. I let my eyes skim over the vast jungle of t-shirts, converse, sour candy, and furry animal hats.

A long sleeved gray shirt with silver paint splatters all over it caught my eye, and I grinned as I saw that it was 50% off, which made it cost only nine bucks. I grabbed the shirt and threw it over my shoulder, along with a pair of torn black jeans with gold swirls coming up from the flared bottoms.

I also picked up some fried maggots—the cheddar flavor—and a black and purple belt that had 'B.A.D.' in Gothic lettering across the back of it. Smiling, I walked up to the counter and paid for my things, not at all minding that it was my mom's money I was buying them with.

Well, I had gotten a new outfit; time to go home.

::::::::

By the time I finally got back to FentonWorks it was already dark, and I could see stars beginning to peek out beneath the sheet of darkness that was the night sky. It was a new moon, which meant that ghosts weren't allowed to travel into the human world because of the fact that portals closed faster without the moon's power to hold them open. Walker had given me an exception, and it was that I wasn't able to use my ghost powers any time after midnight until five o' clock A.M. the next morning. That would give me enough time to go to Clockwork's tower and back, as long as I could find it without much difficulty.

Phasing back into my room, I set the new clothes on the bed and placed the extra change from the purchase in a box that I kept under my pillow; better safe than sorry, right?

My eyes flashed to the glowing red alarm clock sitting on the dresser. It was only 8:39...plenty room to make it home before midnight. I didn't bother changing, since I would have just slept in my clothes anyway, and quickly grabbed a specter deflector, a mini ecto-gun, and a bottle of a special concoction that my dad had just come up with. Apparently, there were supposed to be microscopic detectors inside of the liquid, and when they came in contact with ectoplasm, they were programmed to disintegrate it. Which basically meant that if I were to spray it at a ghost, they would be eaten away from the inside out. Wow, wouldn't that be a lovely sight.

With all my equipment packed away inside of my bag, I slung it over my shoulder and opened the door to my room, peeking out into the hallway and looking for any signs of life. I didn't have to worry about Jazz, since she was away at college, but hey, it never hurt to be careful. I put one foot out, hesitantly, and stepped out, ever so slowly making my way down the hall and the stairs.

I stopped in the kitchen, my eyes quickly adjusting to the growing darkness and the eerie outlines of the refrigerator and the various appliances spread out on the counter tops. I darted my eyes back and forth, reassuring myself that my parents were asleep, and silently walked down into the lab.

Green glows emanated from almost everything, inventions and beakers strewn across tables and the tiled floor and vials and test tubes filled with strange liquids and plasmas sitting on stools. In the back of the lab, a large and bulky contraption stood, its iron doors sealed shut and outlined in metallic yellow and black tape, stating that whoever dared touch it should be cautious. Beside it, a small pedestal protruded from the ground, a red button on the top with the white word 'ON' scrawled across it.

I smirked, floating over to the button and jabbing it in with my thumb. A creaking sound filled the previously noiseless air, the metal doors of the ghost portal parting and letting loose an almost blinding green, swirling window into the other dimension.

Without a second thought, I shot into the light, smiling as screeches and echoes of lost souls rang through my ears. I wordlessly dodged green blobs and weak blasts of ectoplasm, knowing that even if they hit me, no damage would be done; some ghosts just didn't know when to stop. I really hoped that Clockwork's tower would allow me to find it that night, because damn, I could possibly spend hours just wandering around, nowhere near my destination.

I flew left and right quickly, narrowly avoiding the chunks of oddly colored rocks and boulders that were floating around me. I was very thankful that none of my regular ghostly enemies had sensed me inside their territory yet; I could, of course, beat them to a bloody pulp, but they tended to be quite annoying sometimes, despite their obvious weakness. The only one of the local paranormal threats I admired was Skulker, mainly because of his persistence and determination to 'capture' me. Not like that would ever happen, though.

I rolled my eyes inwardly, remembering my first fight with the metal skeleton of a ghost. Man, he had seemed so dangerous back then; it was almost sad to see memories of being beaten fade away so easily. Ember, Desiree, Skulker, Technus, Freakshow, even the Box Ghost. They had all had some effect on my life, and I was slightly grateful for the challenges they had supplied me with. But of course, I would never hesitate to stuff any of them into the Fenton Thermos if they tried to attack me, memorable rivals or not.

My neon green eyes scanned the area, picking out any and all movement and swiftly eliminating it before something bad occurred; I knew I was being paranoid but hey, when there are billions of deadly ghosts surrounding you that you mostly can't see, you have a right to be sort of afraid!

There was no sign of Clockwork's Tower yet, just miles and miles of doors and empty space.

'Come on, Clocky, stop hiding from me...' I thought, blasting a piece of purple stone that had just happened to get in front of my path. I sighed as I flew along, wondering where the hell the time master was holed away this time. I knew he wasn't scared of me coming to find him; he wasn't scared of anything, despite people saying that everyone is afraid of something. I wasn't even sure that he knew I was looking for him. Well, technically, I wasn't searching for _him_, I was searching for the collar. But to get to the collar, I needed to find Clockwork.

I shook my head, annoyed at the fact that I wasn't able to locate my destination.

'It'll show up eventually...I just have to be patient...' I thought as I made my way across the vast expanse of swirls and doors.

"Where the fuck _is _that old coot!" I growled, but stopped short when a floating object caught my eye. I flew closer to it, examining the oddly shaped..uh...thing. It was circular, with a hole in the middle of it. Eight ends stuck out from it, reminding me of...a gear?

"Oh...duh!" I could have smacked myself. Quickly, I gazed around myself, stopping when a strange building came into vision. 'That's where he's hiding...' I thought, swiftly shooting towards Clockwork's tower. 'Time to get that collar...'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chained With Hearts: Chapter 2**

It was quiet as I crept along with cold walls of the tower, the echoes of ticking clocks filling the musty air around me. It was monotonous, no other noises were heard while my emerald eyes scanned the area. No sign of Clockwork...yet. It looked the same as when I was there last, when I had accidentally been transported along with Tucker and Sam. Nothing was different, except for the addition of a few new portals, which were propped against the walls and seemed to be out of use. I couldn't help but wonder what they were there for.

It was so silent, it appeared as if just my breathing was as loud as a train engine, ready to alert Clockwork of my presence any second. I was becoming paranoid; but what was there to be afraid of? I was positive that even if the keeper of time showed up, and initiated a fight, I would be able to beat him into the ground. My powers had grown since my last encounter with the time ghost, though I'm sure he was already aware of that fact since he was supposed to know everything that was occuring in every way of space.

As my feet landed softly on the hard stone floor, a noise made me snap my head to the right. Nothing there. I was sure I had heard something; a distant crash, but not loud enough to be of much importance to anyone who was keeping the tower at the time of my intrusion. A bead of sweat, ice cold, dripped down my forehead while I slightly floated above the ground, afraid that if I walked, it would make too much sound.

There it was again. That crashing, only sounding closer this time. I nervously bit my lip, now vaguely doubting my ghost powers and wondering if I should make a run for it. 'No...no, I can take on whatever is making that noise...' I thought to myself, brushing away a few strands of silvery hair that had fallen into my eyes.

'CRASH'

I flinched at the huge sound, seeming to be coming from the next chamber, from which the entrance was onlya few yards away from where I stood. I shook, my hands curling up into fists, ready to confront whatever ghost or entity was disturbing the silence in the tower.

_**'CRASSSSHHHHH'**_

I was blown back by a barrage of rubble and stone, which impaired my vision for only a few seconds. I could see nothing, but what I heard was music to my ears. I knew it wasn't Clockwork who stood before me, but the very ghost that I had been wanting to see ever since the mistake that had most likely changed my life. Hesitantly, I flickered open my eyes, everything a blur of colors. After a minute, though, everything came into focus, and the first thing I saw were a pair of glowing red eyes that stared directly into mine.

"I was expecting Clockwork," A deep, silky baritone sent shivers up my spine as I unknowingly floated closer to the source of the voice. But soon, common sense got a hold of me and I stopped dead. The ghost who was in front of me was my dream, myself, the being who had killed off my friends and family. Dan.

I was at a loss for words. I had so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to ask him; would he train me? Would he forgive me for letting Clockwork capture him in the thermos? But my mouth just wouldn't work. It was as if his very presence in the same room as me had sealed my lips shut.

The flame haired villain didn't seem to comprehend the fact that I was standing there, until a few seconds later, when his crimson eyes appeared to switch on their intensity, and his gaze directed at me, a cruel looking scowl formed on his face. Oh yes, I had forgotten the fact that it was mostly my fault he had been trapped in the fenton thermos for such a long period of time...

"You." The word that formed from his mouth came out sounding more like a growl as Dan stepped forward, a neon red ecto ball generating from his hand. I took a step back, my body instinctively going into a defensive positon, even though the only thing I wanted to do at the time was talk. But then again, in the short time I had known Dan, he had never been one to give up a fight just to make friendly conversation.

"H-How did you get out...?" I managed to ask, my voice betraying me as it cracked in fear. I might have grown stronger over the few years since I had trapped Dan, but I most definitely was not as powerful as him. The ecto-charged ball in Dan's palm grew larger, as if every tiny movement or thing I said angered him even more.

"Clockwork underestimated my strength. I have been blasting energy inside of the thermos for years, and finally, finally, the damn thing broke," He hissed, his bright flaming hair flickering as he advanced towards me. I took another step backwards, ready to go into battle of it was necessary.

"I-I..." The words died on my lips. I could feel the deadly aura close in around Dan, so fatal that I could practically see the bloodlust. Dammit, this wasn't looking good.

"You dare to come searching for me! When you're the one who trapped me inside that piece of shit thermos!" My future self shouted in rage, his voice gaining volume as his arm moved back, preparing to throw the giant ecto ball directly at me. Before I knew it, the hand that held the scarlet energy had launched forward, and in a last attempt at staying alive, I shouted.

"You were right!"

I awaited the oncoming attack, but it never came. My eyes, which I had shut, opened again, and I saw Dan standing there with the energy all gone from his hand. He had a suspicious air about him, as if he wasn't quite sure what I had meant. That, or he was deciding on a more brutal way to murder me.

"Y-you were right! About my life!" I repeated, my defensive stance loosening as my shoulders went down slightly. Dan narrowed his eyes, his arm lowering and his face going deadpan. I couldn't tell what he was thinking; something I had always been good at was being misleading and confusing, and I guess that trait had continued on even through my future self.

It was quiet, just as it had been when I entered a few minutes before. Nothing to hear but the ticking of clocks and the occasional ghostly wail that came from outside the tower. The silence was almost too much to handle.

"...You're different..." Was all that Dan said as he leaned against the wall. I didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Things change over three years," I replied quietly, crossing my arms on my chest while I closed my eyes. Oh, how true that last sentence was; nothing was the same at all. I just wanted that collar, that was all I had come for, and now I've ended up starting a conversation with my evil future self which will most likely spark memories that I don't want surfacing.

A rather cruel looking smirk crossed Dan's mouth, and his fangs glistened in the green light which filtered from the windows of the tower. He seemed pleased with how this was going; I really couldn't say the same about myself, though. It just felt like I shouldn't have been conversing with a ghost that had apparently killed off most of my family and friends.

"Well, I certainly am not opposed to this change..." Dan stated, his forked tongue flicking out of his mouth for a split second, sending goosebumps across my body. I stood where I was, wondering where the collar could be so that I could find it and get the hell out of there before I got myself into deep trouble.

"So what brings you to Clockwork's tower...?" The murderer of a ghost asked, running his hands through his fiery hair, the flames licking at his fingers. I hesitated to answer for a minute, pondering whether or not I should tell him the real reason that I traveled into the ghost zone so late at night.

"I'm...looking for something," I finally answered, my eyes searching the large room for any signs of ghostly glows. Wait...maybe Dan knew something about the collar! He's been in the thermos when Clockwork was building the collar, so perhaps he heard something about it, maybe he knew where it was and how it worked!

Dan gave me an odd expression, then replied, "Are you talking about the link between humans and ghosts?"

I didn't know if he was talking about the collar or not; yeah, I knew that the collar could link ghosts and humans together, but was it what Dan was talking about? Maybe.

"Uhm, I think so...an object that looks sort of like a collar..?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck nervously. I hadn't felt this vulnerable in a long time. Not since I had left being the town hero in the dust.

Dan seemed as if he were thinking for a moment. "Hmm...yes, I know what you're talking about," The flame haired ghost said as he walked away from the wall and over to a small desk that was in the corner of the chamber.

"Do you know where it is?" I asked, following him and watching as he opened a drawer and rummaged around for a moment.

"Yes...I heard Clockwork talking about it to the Observers..." And with that said, he pulled out the object that I had been searching for. It really did look like a collar; it was glowing purple and green, and had a small tag where you could slide in a name card. I reached towards it, but Dan pulled it away.

"Ah, ah, ah. Promise me something, Danny," He said, holding the collar above my head so that I couldn't reach it. Humiliating.

"What!" I snapped.

"You can't use it for good. If you do, then I'll come after you. Understand?" I nodded, and Dan placed the collar in my hands. This was...too easy. Where was Clockwork, anyways?

As if reading my mind, Dan stated, "Clockwork is out collecting dream sand for his hourglasses and clocks...the only time his tower is vulnerable."

And here comes my infinite respect for Dan again. He found out the exact time Clockwork would be leaving, and decided that that would be when he would escape from the thermos.

"Uhm...thank you..?" I said, holding the collar and feeling very awkward. What now? I got the collar...I guess I just sort of wanted it. But I would have to figure out how to use it, otherwise Clockwork might be alerted of its disappearance and come looking for me to get it back. But then again, Dan would be here, so I shouldn't really have to worry about Clockwork interferring with anything, should I?

"You're welcome. Now go already, before that old shit comes back and finds out you're stealing something from him," Dan said, sitting down in front of one of the portals and watching the scenes unfold before him. It looked like a portal into his timeline; where all the buildings and cities were burning and people were screaming.

I placed the collar inside of the bag I had brought with me, and floated to the entrance of the tower. I turned one last time to face Dan. "Hey. Will you still be here?" I asked.

Dan gave a simple nod, then gestured for me to get out. I shrugged and shot out of the doors, speeding through the ghost zone so that I could get home and do some more research on the collar. I didn't just want the collar; I wanted to use it. But like I had promised, I couldn't use it for anything good, otherwise Dan would definitely kill me for tainting the world with kindness.

This would, no doubt, be an interesting experience, since it would help me figure out how Clockwork makes the clocks and fixes the time portals, because some of his style of working with machinery must have been visible inside of the collar. Maybe, if I learned enough about the collar and how it worked, I would be able to go back to the tower and try to mess with the clocks.

'When I figure this out...I'll be worthy of Dan's training...' I thought as I flew home.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: My little puppies, I'm back! So sorry for leaving you hanging in the last chapter; I had some stuff to work out. **

**Also, I finally realized, after some re-reading, that the first chappie of this story makes Danny seem like some kind of whiny bitch. So try hard and ignore it, kay kay?**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Hugs for all! ~ K.V.**

**Chained with Hearts: Chapter 3**

When I thought it would be an interesting experience working on the collar, I had no idea what the hell I was really getting into. The ghostly item had recently turned into somewhat of a project of mine; research it, prod it and touch it, wonder what it's meant to do. Everything you would expect to occur when an odd object like the collar comes into someone's possession.

The violet and green item was currently held in my hand, being observed by icy blue eyes. I turned the collar every which way, trying to figure out the purpose of a strange spike hooked onto the inside of the leather. It didn't seem to make sense; it would pierce skin if it was put on a human, wouldn't it? Was the goal to harm the wearer, or help the owner…?

I sighed and set the collar down on my desk. My fingers instinctively shot to my temples, attempting to rub out the stress that the other-worldly object was causing my mind. Even though I was doing this on my own time, it didn't mean that it was easy. It took up most of my days, minus the hours spent at school.

Ah, school. That first day back was definitely strange, to say the least. Nothing says 'avoid me' like dirty glares and death threats, so I tried it. Didn't quite work. Not for Dash, anyway. I still got my ass handed to me and ended up with a black and blue eye and quite a few bruises for calling the blond jock a cowardly lion. Note to self, Danny: No matter how strong you get, never taunt the Baxter man. You'll regret it.

I didn't see Tucker anywhere either, only Sam, who I had a steamed and short conversation with that was bordering on a hissy fit. Something about me changing too much and not caring about the people around me or crap, I can't quite recall.

She's such a naggy witch. I wouldn't be surprised if she got arrested one day for bothering someone to death.

'_Beep beep beep'_

I blinked and warped back to reality, looking to where the small and slightly annoying noise was coming from. It was my computer's speakers.

Ah, the alert system must have gone off.

I couldn't help but let a smirk crawl onto my lips as I moved the mouse and opened a new window, entered in a password for the security block, and watched silently.

In the confines of the digital rectangle, what looked like a clean room quietly sat. There were various green and white contraptions lying, strewn across at least three different desks and a few small tables. There was a jet black chair positioned in front of one of the bigger tables, shadowed by a huge and bulky computer system. Only a few spots were left uncovered, which included the floor, the ceiling, and tiny places among the inventions. Very tiny amounts of glowing green liquid dripped from broken beakers and test tubes.

And I observed as the reason for my alert going off walked straight through the crisp doorway. If someone were to see me at the moment, they would have taken my expression and dubbed me insane. I couldn't hold back the grin that spread across my face, my fingers noisily tapping against my desk.

His silverish-gray hair was tied neatly back by a black ribbon, his deep blue eyes half lidded in a calm sort of way. He was obviously comfortable within this wonderful laboratory.

Yeah, Vlad always did have a habit of letting his guard down when he was at home. It was to my advantage that he didn't believe anyone could infiltrate his lab. So naturally, I did. And that's how the intangible cameras found their way into the corners of the white room.

I couldn't help but feel accomplished every time the alarm went off. I spent a lot of time rigging up my spy system, and it paid off immensely.

I remember, in the last few years, how angering it felt to be unaware of what Vlad was up to behind the walls of his mansion. Now who has the upper hand, fruitloop?

Pushing the wave of triumphant thoughts into the back of my mind, I turned my attention once again to the computer.

The human-formed villain sat quietly at one of the desks, typing rapidly on a keyboard which was hooked up to a very sleek-looking netbook. The only thing I could make out on the shiny screen was a blur of words, and an image I couldn't see quite well; it was a blur of purple and green.

He was probably looking up some kind of new ghost equipment or something. Hah, that was so like Vlad, always up to date with the latest technology. I smiled to myself as my arch enemy rubbed the bridge of his nose in obvious stress; nothing brightened my day better than watching the old man grow frustrated with his work.

I saw his lips mutter something, and instinctively, I reached for the audio clip sitting on the edge of my desk. I tapped the tiny blue button and listened carefully, trying to make out what Vlad was saying to himself.

At first all that came through the speakers was static, but after a few seconds of tuning the frequency, a deep male voice was faintly heard. I leaned in to hear.

"Idiotic…can't find…for fifteen years! Never…even seen….trace of it. Go…ghost zone…"

The static ran in between the words, making it difficult to hear, but I got the basic structure of the sentences.

Vlad must have been looking for something. Something important, at that; when he wants something ghost-related, it's either because of its power or its legacy.

I watched the silver haired man work for a few more minutes, then decided it was late enough, and shut down my computer. I rubbed my tired eyes and let out a yawn, uttering a few profanities because I still had things to do.

I looked to my digital clock and saw that it was 11:47. Not _that _late, really.

A sigh escaped my lips as I stood up and stretched.

Something to do, something to do… my eyes shot to the glowing collar, which laid simply on my desk where I had put it down. I could continue inspecting the collar…but I had been doing that since I got home from school, it was getting boring. Maybe-

'_Bzzz bzzz'_

I reached into my pocket and took out my cell phone, pressing the receive call button and answering, "Hello?"

"Hey man, whatcha up to?"

A smile crept onto my mouth.

"Hi Tuck. Just…'hangin. What about you?" I responded, not wanting to reveal my real nightly endeavors. If Tucker knew about everything I was doing in the ghost zone and working on with the collar, he would freak out. And I definitely didn't want to lose the one friend I was clinging to.

"Meh, just updating my PDA. Wanna come over?" A tiny conflict began in my mind.

I could go over, but that would mean I wouldn't be able to work on the collar or spy on Vlad if he happened to come back into his lab. But I really was getting pretty bored…

"Okay, I'll be there in a few, see ya."

"Mkay, bye!"

I let my eye twitch a bit before understanding what was happening. Dammit, Danny, you could've spent the night fixing up the spy cameras at Vlad's! Ugh…oh well. Can't change it now.

Maybe I should bring my game system….

_**CRASH**_

"Dude, you totally cheated! You can't just take your turn without telling me!"

I smacked my beret-wearing friend upside the head for killing my player before I could attack. Seriously, that wasn't fair…I wasn't one to talk, though.

Tucker just chuckled and shook his head, retrieving his game controller from the table and starting another round. I watched the digital fantasy characters duke it out in another realm, hitting each other with swords and magic bombs.

My thumb rapidly hit the Y button as both my pointer fingers clicked the tabs on the front of the controller. I felt a bead of sweat drip down my forehead. Nothing got me going more than playing Apocalyptic Dragons with Tuck.

_**GAME OVER**_

_**Tuckmeister27 WINS**_

I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest. It was fun hitting Tucker's player, but it was just plain annoying when I lose five times in a row. My hand dove into the bag of cheese puffs placed in between Tucker and I, taking out a few and shoving them in my mouth.

Yeah, hanging with Tuck was nice.

"Hey dude, shouldn't you get going? It's like 1:00," The teenager beside me commented as he placed the controller on the floor. I swallowed and replied,

"Nah, I'm good. Unless you're not allowed to stay up this late or something…" Provoking initiated.

Tucker gasped dramatically.

"Danny, are you implying that I'm still fourteen! How rude! I can stay up as long as I want!" He said in a fake-pompous way, placing his hand on his heart.

I snickered at his acting and took a sip of my soda. When you're feeling down, go to your best friend's house. It'll work, guaranteed. Well…it worked for me, anyways.

I sighed in content and sat back on my beanbag, letting the cushy foam beads suck me in. I could feel Tucker's eyes staring at me.

"So Danny, how're you and Sam…?" His voice came out hesitantly, and for good reason. I stiffened, my hand tightening around my soda can. Don't snap, Danny, don't snap…

"Not…not that good, Tuck," I responded as I sat back up placing my elbows on my knees and turning to look at my friend.

A confused expression appeared on his face.

"I thought you guys got over this, you said you would be civil with each other, remember?" He said in an exasperated tone. I grinned sheepishly, silently apologizing for not keeping my word. Oh well, I did that a lot.

I replied, "Well, I mean, she's just so whiny. 'Danny, you were wrong to break up with me! I'm totally better than anyone else!' It's like she's never letting it go, man."

Tucker gave a small chuckle.

"That doesn't sound exactly like her, but she does have a habit of holding grudges and being suspicious. I guess if you're over it already, then she's a third of the way there," He explained with a small grin. I gave up a smile and shrugged.

"Yeah, but Sam's so…so complicated. She's really hard to please, you know?" I thought aloud.

Tucker nodded wisely. "I agree with ya there, buddy. She's one hell of a maze. Can't really blame you for dumping her, as mean as that sounds."

I laughed. "Hahah, definitely. At least I still have you, Tuck," I chimed, holding out my palm for a hi-five. I received one and once again sat back in the bean bag chair. Talking was good, almost always effective.

_**Creak**_

"Honey, is Danny going home soon? I heard you two up here, and it's nearly one thirty!" I looked as the door to the room opened and revealed Tucker's mom, who had a sleepy look on her face. I suddenly felt sorry for being so loud with the game.

Tucker groaned.

"Mo-om, can't he stay over?" I chuckled at the teen's childish whining.

Mrs. Foley crossed her arms over her chest in an unamused way and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but he can't. Tomorrow is a school day, hun! You don't want to be tired when you get up, do you?"

I heard my friend mutter something along the lines of 'Yeah I do', but he sighed and nodded.

"Okay. C'mon Danny, let's clean up," Tucker had obviously admitted defeat when he started throwing away the empty bags of chips and soda cans. I smiled to myself and helped him unhook my game cube.

After a few minutes, I was downstairs saying goodbye to the Foley family for the night.

"Bye Mrs. Foley, by Tuck. Thanks for hanging out with me," I said.

"No prob, dude. See ya tomorrow," Tucker said, closing the door and shutting me away from my fun-pretend world of video games and snacks. I stood there for a few seconds, contemplating what I should do. I had to go home to put away my game cube, but then what? Eh, I'll find out later.

A shudder passed through me as pure white rings washed over my body. The familiar feeling of relief and freshness lulled me. I shook my head.

Don't fall asleep before you even get home, stupid!

I pushed off from the ground and shot into the sky, clinging the gaming system to my chest to keep it from falling. A sigh escaped my lips as a cool breeze passed around me; flying was the best, no matter what was happening in my life. Being in the air was way better than being stuck down on the ground where everyone was teasing you and throwing things at you for being 'that stupid Fenton kid'.

I inhaled deeply and soared silently, enjoying the night sky and the stars that dimly shimmered because of the lights from the city. I flew through a cloud or two, feeling a slightly moist sensation because of the water.

Before I knew it, I was spinning around in circles and laughing to myself, my goal of going home forgotten. I was highly leaning towards just throwing my game cube down to earth, if to just experience the flight more.

I looked around and quietly landed on a building, setting down the bulky metal contraption and shooting off again. I would retrieve it later. And fuck if it rained, I would just get some more of Mom's money and buy another one, maybe a later model.

_**BOOMMM**_

I hadn't noticed that the clouds I had passed through were a dark grayish blue, and high above even where I was flying, tiny drops of liquid began showering lightly onto me and the city below. I happily opened my mouth and started catching rain droplets, eagerly going back to when I was littler, when I would try and collect as much water as I could. My gloves soon became wet, but I simply didn't care anymore. Who cared about the collar, about Dan and Clockwork and all the other damned ghosts in the ghost zone? All that mattered were times like these, when I couldn't be bothered about things I didn't like and no one annoyed me. Sam was far out of my mind, and school was miles away as I looped around buildings and circled where I was last. I attempted to go so fast that I could grab my spectral tail, but it didn't work. Oh well, what did it matter?

I laughed to myself and continued flying, ignoring a tiny alarm bell that was ringing in my head. My fingers ran through my damp hair as rain continued to weakly fall in a steady, almost monotonous rhythm. It was very soothing, and before I knew it, my face was towards the sky and I was mumbling praises to Mother Nature for creating rain.

Perhaps I was acting a bit loopy, but it didn't occur to me at all.

I zig-zagged across the sky, rolling around in the air and having the time of my life. I then simply shot straight forward, the alarm in my mind becoming louder. I continued to ignore it. I flied as fast as I could, streaming through the drops and letting a huge grin come onto my face.

I was so swift, my tail was straight, without bending because I was going so quick. My brain was in a frenzy of happiness and jittery energy, my body trying to let out as much joy as it could without accidentally letting loose a ghostly wail in the process.

I spun around, retracing my flight pattern and heading back towards downtown Amity Park. I spiraled and, like a drill, became intangible and carelessly flew through different apartment complexes and towers like no freaking tomorrow.

I laughed the whole way to my home. If someone took a picture of me, no doubt there would be sparkles and flowers around me, I was so insanely happy.

My body morphed through the wall of Fenton Works, and I landed, breathlessly, in my bed.

I kept chuckling to myself for at least ten minutes afterwards, and I just sat, my hands on my chest and my thoughts clouded in what could be mistaken as a high. Unknowingly, I started humming a random tune and tapping my fingers to the 'music'.

"…and bingo was his name-o…hahah…" I smiled and rubbed my eyes, letting out a huge yawn. Yeah, it was probably time to go to bed.

Oh. Wait.

A foggy memory of putting my game cube onto a building's roof surfaced, and I just laughed. More flying time, wonderful!

I stumbled in a drunk-sort of way as I got out of bed and blinked. I hadn't changed back to Danny Fenton yet, so no need to transform.

I shifted through my room's wall and started flying towards the rooftop where I left my gaming system. I believe it was on the Nasty Burger HQ. I lazily and joyfully spun around. In a few minutes, I came upon the roof and I reached down to retrieve it, but my hand hit…nothing?

The extreme joy I had slowly drained away as I looked down to see…nothing. This was the corner I left it in, right? My eyes looked to all other corners and saw that my game cube wasn't at any of them. I furrowed my brows and thought for a minute.

An ah-hah moment came to me as I saw the door room that led down into the rest of the building. I slipped down lower until I came face-to-face with windowed glass. Inside I could see that no lights were on…and no one was there. It was closed. So my game cube couldn't have been taken by anyone, right?

I shoved the suspicious situation into the back of my mind and shook my head. Okay, Danny, it's alright, you'll just buy another one-a better one!

I nodded to myself and flew back to my house.

I had absolutely no feeling that anyone was watching me. It was too bad that that's exactly what was happening.

A fanged grin grew wider in amusement. A sharp-nailed and gloved hand held a big mechanical square with a few wires loose from it. Clawed fingers ran simply through white licking flames.

"I know we had a deal…but I can't help but make sure that you follow it, Danny-Boy…"

Red eyes observed the young phantom as he shot through the sky.

"Yeah…I'll make sure…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter will be in Dan's PoV, kay? Enjoy, puppies! **

**Chained with Hearts: Chapter 4**

_Was I always this concentrated?_

The thought ran through my mind as I observed my younger counterpart sitting, hunched over, at his computer desk typing intently, his eyes glued to the screen. His fingers flew across the keyboard at an alarming speed as a bead of sweat dripped down his cheek. I furrowed my brows.

What could that teen boy possibly be doing that needed such an insane amount of attention?

Currently, I was morphed halfway through the floor, leaning on what appeared to be a large speaker. Thankfully, while I had time to practice inside of that piece-of-shit thermos, I learned how to channel my ghostly signals, well, inside of myself. It's really very hard to explain, but the point is that Danny couldn't sense me, not to mention I was also invisible and intangible. However, I was unable to get close enough to see what he was working on without alerting him to my presence. And it was getting annoying.

Once in a while, the raven haired boy would just sit there, staring at the computer, and then shake his head and mumble a few curses before getting back to typing. I hadn't been this bored since the first few days in Clockwork's tower...

"THAT'S IT!"

'Holy fuck, what was that!' I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from swearing and giving away my hiding spot. My red eyes shot open and instantly shifted to where Danny was sitting, his face practically glowing. What some may have called a psychopathic grin was spread across the halfa's mouth.

"Of course, that spike, the inside...used to suck out humanity...will...strength, all being...conclusive to...controlling a mortal..."

I could hardly make out the words Danny was saying to himself, he was talking so fast. The teen grabbed an object from the right side of his desk and looked at it intently. It was glowing green and shaped like a razor-sharp tipped cylinder, like a cone.

"Model of the spike...test out...need a subject, but who's...blood sample...equivalent to...half human?"

Once again, I have succeeded in confusing myself. What in the hell was this crazy kid talking about? I took the risk of sliding silently away from the speaker and landing softly behind Danny's chair. I bent down and put all my effort into keeping my ghost signals away from his sense.

My eyes narrowed in question as I gazed at the boy's desk. It was piled with notebooks, journals, and stray pieces of paper with odd math equations on them, little words were scribbled onto some sticky notes, like 'Find test subject' and 'Previous blood samples negative of ghostly residue'. It didn't make sense, I was never this...this...focused on things other than battling ghosts!

I was pulled out of my amazement as Danny tore a page from a journal and yanked a pencil from the cup on the corner of the desk, then started writing down information as though his life depended on it.

I could see some of the sentences...

'Need an experiment...spike requires both human and ghost blood cells...ectoplasm sample not obtained on last trip to ghost zone...Skulker inconclusive, Ember inconclusive, Technus inconclusive...repair spy cameras...rig up needles to suck out halfa blood...cannot use my own...other halfa...Danielle...other side...ghost zone...

Abruptly, Danny threw down his pencil and stood up, causing me to dodge out of his way. I stepped backward as the teen transformed into his ghostly persona and pulled a backpack that was hanging on a hook down. He threw in that green, cone-shaped spike, along with a journal, some pencils, a couple of empty vials, syringes, and...incision tools? I frowned. This was not how I was when I was sixteen. I was still nice-hearted, and the determined boy in front of me obviously did not have good intentions for what he was going after. How strange...and...oddly...intriguing. Though at the same time, it felt as if the dangerous glint in is eyes was...not supposed to be there.

Ignoring my stupid inner-conflict, I watched as Danny slung the backpack over his shoulder and gave a last glance at his room.

I followed my younger self as he ran out of his room and almost tripped down the stairs. I struggled to keep up with him, continuing to trace his steps. I knew Jasmine wasn't there, I heard Clockwork talk to himself about what was currently happening in this timeline, and apparently, she's off to college. I floated right above the tiled floor, knowing that if I made even a step, Jack would come barging into the kitchen blathering on about ghosts invading his precious home.

Danny, contrary to his recent actions, drastically slowed down when he floated past his parents' room. I could see his nervous frame shaking. I had no doubt in my mind that Maddie and her blundering husband had laid out numerous amounts of laser sensors, ectoplasmic detectors, and bazookas. No question that the devices were hidden in the walls and ceiling.

I rolled my eyes at the pair's unintelligent layout and pinned the hate for Jack under my mental 'fruitloop symptons' list. I suppose even if I was a fuse of Plasmius and Phantom, I got some personal quirks from each persona. Odd.

At a molasses-like speed, Danny finally passed the bedroom. I heard a sigh of relief come from the boy's lips as he continued on.

I simply kept my ectoplasmic signature inside my own body and easily hovered by the closed door. My young counterpart stopped when he was in front of the stair case that led down into the lab. Danny fixed the shoulder strap of the backpack so that he could move easier, and started down the steps. I silently tailed him, my curiosity peaking, wondering what was getting Danny so...unlike himself.

At the bottom of the stair case, the raven haired teen haulted and looked around the spacious room filled with various inventions that glowed green and bright metallic white.

For a few seconds, he just stood there, his bright green eyes taking in the whole of the technology-ridden room.

I heard something come out of his mouth, but I wasn't close enough to hear what he said. I frowned. I hated it when someone knew something and I didn't. It made me feel weak, which was definitely not what I am. In fact, I was the exact opposite of weak! I was stronger than the ghost king himself, and I could kick my younger self's ass out the door if I wanted to. If I felt like it, I could dunk the whole of the ghost zone in a lake of chaos and destruction without even lifting a finger! I chuckled and continued to mentally praise my strength. Until I heard what sounded like a gasp come from Danny, who was still in front of me. I wondered what he was surprised about, but I widened my eyes as a cold wisp of blue escaped his lips. Shit...I stopped controlling my signals, he must have sensed me. I immediately channeled the ghostly waves back into my body just as Danny turned to try and see what made his ghost sense go off. His emerald eyes narrowed and flashed in suspicion, staring right at me, but obviously not able to see me.

After a few minutes of nothing, Danny relaxed his shoulders and shook his head. The halfa hovered over to the big red button in front of the portal. And with his gloved hand, he pushed.

And that was when things got difficult for me.

The snowy haired teen shot like a cannon into the screaming, haunted world of the ghost zone. I instantly flew after him. Danny spun like a drill, reaching almost impossible speeds as he dodged purple rocks and glowing doors in what must have been only milliseconds.

I growled and kept a safe distance from the boy as I copied his route. It was like that for at least twenty minutes; he would swerve and go intangible so that he could fly through wandering spirits, and I would simply smash into them and smile when I heard bones crunch. I loved that sound; it was addicting.

After the twenty minute mark, I glanced at my surroundings. Black and red covered the area instead of the signature neon green, the colors blending in swirls and sometimes creating figures and faces. I knew I read about this somewhere...oh, wait, I was listening to Clockwork drawl on and on to the Observers about time and space, and about different parts of the ghost zone that had yet to be explored. This fit with one description the Time Master gave; a red and black world filled with entities one hundred times more deadly than the ones in the normal ghost zone. I sighed. Well that's just a wonderful fact, is it not? I shrugged and kept up the pace following Danny, who had no trouble keeping his speed up when bloody skeletons grabbed at him. He just blasted them and made no noise to show that he heard the curses and the slow, chilling chants willing him to die in hell. I was just about at my breaking point when a bony, yellow veined hand gripped my cape. There was no body attached to it, which made it easy to flick the weak specter back into the depths of...well, wherever we were.

My eyes locked onto the back of Danny, following his every move, despite numerous floating skulls cackling at me and whispering my death, and roaming banshees wailing about their lost grooms, swiping their clawed and bony fingers at me and telling me to stay with them. I grimaced and blasted a particularly clingy one away, ignoring her sobs and her yells that I would be hers.

Okay, that was almost as gross as knowing that I was technically blended with Danny and the fruitloop's ghost halves. Seriously...are all of the female apparitions in the ghost zone this desperate?

I rolled my crimson eyes and dodged an incoming ectoplasmic bullet. I took a second to look back and see who had fired at me, and I was slightly surprised to see Walker. Wait...what the hell was he doing on this side of the ghost zone? Didn't he run the prison? I glared at him as he reloaded his ghostly pistol and took an aim to my forehead. I simply flew a bit to the right and watched as the bullet continued on its path, almost hitting Danny in the back of his head.

The halfa turned right as I became invisible, slowing down as he saw Walker holding a gun and aiming at him.

"Whoah, hey hey hey, what did I do this time?" Danny complained, holding his hands up in an apparent attempt to show that he didn't want to fight.

Walker placed the gun back in its holster and floated up to the teen, still quite a bit taller than the sixteen year old.

"Haven't you heard, punk? You've got five million bucks on your head, courtesy of an anonymous ghost! And I sure as hell ain't gunna let you get away this time," the Warden growled, reaching again for the pistol.

I backed away from the situation and watched as the exchange grew darker.

"C'mon, Walker, I'm not in the mood to fight, just go away," Danny whined, obviously not giving a damn whether or not the white-clad ghost stayed or left. Walker reached out and grabbed the teen by his collar, yanking up Danny so they were eye-to-eye.

"Look, kid, I ain't got time to listen to what mood you're in, just stay still so I can shoot your guts out," Walker snarled, taking the glowing green gun off of his belt and placing the cold metal against Danny's head.

I could see the boy trying to suppress his nervousness, but I observed his lithe form shaking. Somewhere...somewhere, I don't know where...a little flame started burning. I found my breathing become deeper as I sent a deadly glare at Walker. As if sensing my steaming eyes, the warden looked straight through me and smirked. I'm not sure if he could see me or not, but he knew someone was there.

But he did nothing else to acknowledge my presence.

Walker just dug the metal deeper into Danny's temple, relishing the whimpers that the boy let out.

"I'd like to hear your voice more, but I have a schedule to keep, punk. Say goodbye."

And he pulled the trigger.

Things happened so fast, it was hard to keep up with them. I felt my body involuntarily lurch forward, flying at Danny, who had shut his eyes, expecting to feel the bullet shoot inside his head. On instinct, I turned intangible, wrapping my arms around the smaller body and pushing him out of the way.

Too bad that that wasn't all I did.

Right after the lunge, I frantically attempted to keep my signals away from Walker and Danny...and...Danny?

I became invisible and looked, shocked, at the two bodies I was on top of.

One was...Danny, except his hair was a mixture of black and white...and he had a t-shirt with his insignia on it...

The-the other..had snow white hair and glowing green eyes, looking every bit like Danny's ghost half, but instead of the black and white hazmat suit, he was wearing the same red and white shirt that Danny's human form would normally wear...

What..what the hell did I do?

My mind still spinning, I didn't hear Walker come up behind me. Until I was jerked up by the back of my cape and flipped around to face an angry scowl.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you have to do with the ghost kid?" The warden hissed, beginning to wrap his strong hand around my throat.

How dare he.

"Let go of me, bastard!" I shouted, using my free hand to grab onto Walker's wrist and squeezing until I heard bones crack with the pressure. I turned the tables and shoved my boot hard into the warden's stomach, grinning when I saw ectoplasm dribble from his lip. He took a raspy breath as his eyes flashed red.

"Whoever you are, you're in for a world of pain!" The white-clad ghost growled and threw a fist at my face, hitting it dead on. I grunted at the impact and in retaliation, struck up and butted my head hard against Walker's. Ectoplasm dripped from the new wound, doing the same to my head.

Taking advantage of the warden's pain, my hand shot to his throat with a grip like a cobra's. I squeezed until my knuckles turned white, delighting in every crunch that came from his neck. I could feel the bones cracking and breaking under my fingers.

"Know this, warden, if you try and attack me, you're gunna get killed more than once. It would do you good to tell your prisoners that as well," I whispered, giving a final squeeze and releasing my hand, allowing Walker to fall to the ground on top of a hunk of black rock.

I watched as the rock slowly glided away, leaving me with...oh shit.

I flew over to where the...two..Danny's...were floating, out cold. For the first time in my afterlife, I felt like I didn't know what to do. I just stared at the couple of teens, my fingers stroking my goatee in thought. Well, as much I would love to, I couldn't leave them – him – they – Ugh, I couldn't let them just float around in the ghost zone. If they got killed by some ghost, that means I would die, too. But...I still didn't exactly know what happened.

I remember me pushing Danny out of the way, but...but then what? I looked down at my hand, trying to figure out what had made Danny...split, into two halves? Or something along those lines, anyway. I turned my hand intangible, and the thought struck me.

I turned intangible when I pushed Danny...I must have...taken out his other half...

My eyes flicked to the two teens. But they didn't like like Phantom _or _Danny...did I split the already halves...in half again? No, there would be four if I did...

"Ughhh..." I rubbed the bridge of my nose and tried to think out the math.

The first boy had both white and black hair, so was that a mix of Danny and his ghost half? But what about the white haired boy, wouldn't he technically be the ghost half? Then if I followed that logic, there was only _one_ human, and _two_ ghosts? How the hell does that work?

I gave up and decided that because ghosts were more powerful than humans, it would make sense if Danny was _one third_ human, and_ two thirds _ghost. I could be wrong, but I didn't feel like delving deeper into the confusing puzzle.

I looked around and, seeing no sign of life...or, un-life, became visible again and bent down to pick up the first Danny, the one with black and white hair. I slung the boy over my shoulder and did the same with the other one.

And I only knew one place I could take them without ruining the time line.

:::::::

"So you say that Daniel has been split up?" I sighed in annoyance.

"_Yes, _CW, that's what I've been saying! If you would get yourself a damn hearing aid, maybe you'd listen better!" I replied to the time ghost hotly.

Clocwork just chuckled and sat beside me. I instantly scooted to the other end of the couch. I did _not _want those old-guy germs getting on me.

The master of time shifted into his middle-aged form and hummed in though.

"Tell me again why you're not trying to kill me?" He asked, with all seriousness intended.

"Because, dip shit, if I did, you'd just put me in that fuckin thermos again," I responded, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

All CW did was laugh and shake his head. I glared at him.

"You're just as much of a child as you were when you were sixteen," the man stated, an amused glint in his eye. I saw him start to shift into an infant, but I cut in.

"Quit changing all the time, you dick, I don't want to be next to a gezer or some kind of mental baby!" I complained. Clockwork shrugged and kept his young form, his hand playing with the hourglass inside his chest.

"So you think that you pushed out Danny's ghost half?"

"No, you retarded clock, I said that I pushed out Danny's ghost _halves_!" I said in an exasperated tone. Clockwork stopped tuning his chest hourglass and looked at me.

"And why would you think that?" He questioned calmly. I felt my anger die down a little bit.

"...Oh I don't know, because there's one boy that's black _and _white, which takes care of Danny's human form and ghost form, but then there's another ghost in his own body!" I explained as best as I could, using my arms to gesture to the two Danny's, who were covered in blankets and laying down next to each other on a different couch.

Clockwork sighed in what I could only guess was frustration and stood up, walking over to a purple rack and laying his hourglass rod against the wall. I wasn't really paying attention until the master of time pulled down his hood and unhooked his cloak, placing it on the rack. I stared at the ghost, watching his white hair fall down his back as he fiddled with a clock on a wall.

He then walked back over to where I was and sat down.

I forgot that I should scoot over.

"You're suggesting that Daniel has two ghostly persona?" I nodded, barely listening to his words and instead glancing intently at the zigzag mark over his left eye.

"Well that certainly seems to make sense, but of course, that wouldn't explain when Vladimir clawed out your ghost half. There was only one," Clockwork said, reaching into a pocket on his undershirt and pulling out a hairband.

I furrowed my brows and repeated what CW had said in my head. But...what if...there was only one ghost half that could be _seen, _but technically there was another ghost inside of him...

I opened my mouth to speak, but after Clockwork tied his hair in a loose ponytail, he spoke first.

"That's most definitely a possibility, Dan. I know from experience that if in the rare occasion that human blood mixes with ghostly ectoplasm, there will be a product of a thick liquid called Kartuyin, which can be deadly to humans, even though it's created with human blood as an ingredient."

I felt a vein pop.

"How did you know what I thinking, Clockwork...?" I said, my teeth grinding while I asked. He should _not _be able to get inside my mind.

"I know everything, therefore by knowing everything, I know that I can dive into peoples' minds, knowing that it is a fact because I know everything that is true or not true, and if it is true, then it will be known by me,"

The time ghost said in a tone that said 'it's fun to know things that others don't'.

"...I didn't know it was possible to break your brain," I mumbled, causing a laugh to come from the white haired man beside me.

"In other words, Dan, I can read minds because I know everything. Not to brag, though," He said simply, folding his hands together and smiling at me.

I groaned and laid back onto the couch.

"Well then Danny _does _have two ghosts inside of his body...right?" I asked, looking to the other couch as one of the Danny's muttered something and shifted against the other.

"Technically, yes. However, that's not the case at the moment. As you can plainly see, there are only two bodies. One for one of the ghost halves, and one for both a human and a ghost. Though I'm not quite sure what the difference between the two ghost halves is...well actually, yes I do, but I'm not permitted to say just what," Clockwork told me, also looking at the two young teens on the couch. I rolled my eyes and stayed quiet.

That was how it was for at least another hour.

I watched out the window of the tower for something to do until the Danny's woke up. Cackling green blobs floated past, and every now and again a familiar face would fly by. I watched as Ember flew across the the green space, but halted when she saw me through the window. A confused expression dawned on her face as I waved.

She was such a babe...maybe after all this was over and CW didn't put me back inside the thermos, I could ask her out. Until she got boring, then I'd have to cut open her stomach and make her eat her own intestines. That would be wonderful, I thought, something to get my mind off Clockwork and Danny...er, Danny's.

I sighed. I needed a hobby. Or...a cat or something. Wait...no, hell, no I don't need a cat!

There comes the fruitloop's feelings again. I wonder what traits Danny gave me, anyway, since so many of the things I do come from Vlad's side.

'_Zzzz...zz...'_

I heard a small snoring sound coming from behind me. I turned and saw Clockwork leaning against the edge of the couch, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and collected. He was asleep.

I didn't know that the master of time had enough time to sleep. Apparently not much, because he looked like he was out cold. Against my will, a smirk crept onto my lips at the scene. He was completely vulnerable in that state.

I stood from my place at the window and walked over to the middle aged Clockwork, having a small fight in my head.

'_Don't do it, Dan, your emotions will show!'_

I ignored the raving mad voice in my head and sat as close to CW as I could without waking him. I watched his lips open each time he took a breath. A strange feeling curled inside of my stomach, like a fluttery sort of feeling.

I hated it.

I mentally crushed the emotion. Or at least, I tried to. It kept floating around my nerves and causing me to bite my lip nervously. I was never nervous. _Ever. _

In an attempt to get rid of the feeling, I stood up and sat back down at the other side of the large couch.

"Ahn..."

I thanked Lucifer for a distraction and saw one of the Danny's say something quietly as he rubbed his eyes. It was the Danny with both black and white hair. Once he took away his hands, I was drawn to look at his eyes. The right one was cerulean blue, the other a neon green.

"What are you doing here, old man?" the teen asked me. I was about to answer, but another voice, deeper, interjected.

"Don't insult him, he'll kill us!" I looked to the other Danny, expecting to see him awake, but he was still fast asleep.

"I can do what I want." I continued to stare at the black and white Danny, who appeared to be having mixed emotions, the color of his eyes switching every few seconds.

"No, it's our body, we have to do things together!" I blinked as two different voices came out of the boy.

"I don't even know how you got here, this is_ my _body, idiot!"

"But...I was here first, so-"

"Yeah? So fuck the rules, I'm keeping this body anyway! You can just find another one!"

"B-bu-but-"

"OUT."

I watched, intrigued, as Danny hissed and started clawing at his face, leaving bright red marks and even drawing a bit of blood.

"Oww, that hurts! Please stop!" Danny ran a huge scratch across his face, blood seeping out of the wound and onto his lips.

"You want me to stop! Then get the hell out!" The teen ground his teeth and put a fist to his heart, as if protecting it.

"Phantom said that I don't have to listen to y-"

"Phantom isn't here!"

I smiled and watched the exchange with eagerness. It was better than TV, and had a lot more blood.

More and more scratches and gashes appeared on his forehead and cheeks, even though his hands weren't touching them. It was as if an unknown force was trying to hurt Danny.

Puddles and puddles of crimson liquid poured down his face, getting on his shirt and staining the insignia with red.

"If you kill the vessel, you're gunna get in trouble with Phantom!"

"So what, that dumbfuck doesn't even know how to use a phone!"  
>"It's not his fault he's been trapped all alone, he just never got the chance to learn!"<p>

"You're such a naïve little twit, Danny!" The deep voice was shouting now, apparently getting more agitated every time the other voice said anything. Blood was still dripping out of the scratches, pooling on the floor.

I had no intention of snapping Danny out of his…moment, but Clockwork groaned and brought a hand to his face, alerting the attention of the double haired teen, who had his hand around his own neck.

"Where are we, Zane?"

"Shut your mouth, that's Clockwork, idiot!" Both voices came out of Danny's mouth, each one drastically different in tone and pitch.

Said time keeper rubbed his temples and sat up, his red eyes opening tiredly and taking in the scene before him. I was sitting on the couch next to him, observing the fight between…Danny and…Danny…

"Dan, what did you do?" CW asked in a slightly raised voice. I snapped my head to face him.

"I didn't do anything! He, er, they, uh, woke up on his..their…own!" I struggled to place whether or not Danny was now two separate beings. Clockwork got up and stretched, his hands high above his head. Unintentionally, I found my eyes wander as CW's undershirt got slightly pulled up, revealing light, bluish green skin.

"Find something interesting, Dan?" I jerked my head up to glare at Clockwork, who had a knowing smile on his face. I tried to push down the blood that was flowing to my cheeks, but did not succeed.

"Whatever, shit head, I wasn't looking at you…" I muttered angrily, finding myself chewing my lip again.

"Of course you weren't, that would be ridiculous. And I see we finally have company," Clockwork changed the subject so fast, it was very easy to notice. The time ghost looked at Danny, who was mumbling to himself in two different voices. One sounded scared, like it didn't know what it was doing. The other was sharp and demanding, more like a man's voice than a young boy's. The blood had begun to dry, leaving a metallic and tangy scent in the air. It smelled great, to be honest. But then again, I like everything about blood.

"Introduce yourself, Zane, it's rude not to acknowledge your host!" The weak voice spoke, then the darker one.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want to do. He already knows who we are, so why the hell do I need to introduce us?" The deep voice snapped.

Clockwork intervened before things got back into a blood bath.

"Well then, Zane and Daniel, welcome to my tower. I can see you…two…are already acquainted. But however, even though I know you two very well, Dan doesn't. You still need to do introductions, it's polite, you know," Clockwork said, confusing me even more.

Danny sighed, letting the smaller voice talk first.

"I'm Danny, sir, and…uhm…nice t-to meet…you?" There were so many breaks in that sentence, I could barely understand him.

"And th-th-..this is, my..my, f-friend, uhm-"

"It's Zane, fuck face. Don't wear it out. And another thing, tell Danny to get the hell out of my body. He's such a fucking child, he thinks it's his," the deeper voice said loudly.

Clockwork didn't seem affected by the large amount of profanities in Zane's words, and instead, he smiled kindly.

"Now that that's over with, Zane, please tell me why you invaded Daniel's human body?"

There was a short silence, but Zane spoke.

"I didn't invade it, dickweed, it just so happened that while I was cruising around in the zone, Danny turned on a portal and sucked me into his body. Not my fault," Zane replied.

"U-uhm, we-well, actu-ually, you did..didn't do it o-on accident…really…" Danny commented quietly.

I heard Zane growl dangerously. "What are you talking about, dumbfuck!" the voice shouted, Danny's eyes flashing completely green for a split second, before turned a soft, icy blue.

"Well…y-you said y..you..you were look-looking for a-a n..new…body…a-and when the p-portal turned o-o..on, y-you saw m-my body, and you…you took it…" Danny whispered, almost inaudible.

"Yeah, and now it's mine. Get your stupid human brain around the fact that I don't want to share this body, and I'm not leaving!"

Zane hissed the last words, raising his arm up and holding it in front of his eye. His fingers wrapped around his eyelids and squeezed.

"Get out, or you lose an eye, Danny," Zane said darkly. His fingers dove around the squishy ball, almost completely around it. Blood started trickling down his face.

I turned to see that Clockwork was just watching the situation, a thoughtful look on his face. Danny's fingers fully encased his eye, and then he pulled.

"AGHHHHhhh, stopstopstopimsorrryyyy, Zane stop!" It was interesting to see tears streaking down the boy's cheeks. Still, Clockwork did nothing to stop Zane's attack. And I wasn't going to do anything…meh, I guess he'll lose an eye.

Zane tugged hard on the muscle cords still attached to the back of his eye, the only thing keeping it from falling out. Danny sobbed and gave a weak attempt of stopping Zane's hand with the other hand, but failed.

"This is what happens when you try to challenge me, bitch!" And then came the final pull. A soft '_snap_' echoed around the spacious room. Silence hung thick in the air, waiting for someone to say something. Nothing was heard except Danny's cries of pain as his hand held up the ball that was once inside his socket. The pastel blue eye stared at nothing, pinkish and bloody cords hanging limp from it.

"Well look what you made me do. You just wasted a perfectly good eye, Danny, nice job," Zane's voice said in a bored tone, throwing up the eye and catching it in what looked like a game.

"Owwoww…y-you didn't h-h..have to do- t-that…" Danny sniffed, using his free hand to wipe away some of the tears that were mixing with blood at the end of his face.

"Yes I did. Now get out of my body, before I prevent you from having kids," Zane threatened, his one green eye staring down at its limp partner.

Danny whimpered as a freezing cold blasted through the room. I saw an opaque hand come out of Zane's shoulder, pushing itself up until another one joined it. A head pulled out of Zane's neck, along with an upper chest. Soon, a bottom half emerged, followed by two legs and feet. The translucent figure fell to the ground, nothing covering his nude form. It coughed a few times, blood spattering onto the floor.

After a few minutes, the figure became solid, and it was apparent how far he had gone to keep his body. Scars and scratch marks littered his back, and scabs were forming among tons of bluish black bruises. His raven hair was in a messy mop, black strands falling into his face and covering his eyes.

"You look like shit, Danny," Zane chuckled to himself and dropped his eye beside the trembling teen. Danny reached out and took the bloody body part in his hand, holding it up against his chest as if to protect it.

"Zane...what the hell did you do! Get me back inside my body!" the weak voice was covered up by Danny's normal voice, no stuttering or slurring. Zane shrugged and replied in a cool tone,

"No, I don't think I will. You have problems, go ask your little fucked up angel Phantom. No doubt he'll just try and talk it out."

Danny coughed a few more times and struggled to get to his feet. Once he was standing, Danny turned to face Zane, who seemed very much amused at the fact that the human wasn't wearing any clothing.

"I will, and he'll kick your ass! You took over his place in my body, so he must be pretty pissed at you anyways!" Danny yelled.

"Pssh, he can't lift a finger at me. You both know that I won't give you guys your body back, so why even bother?" Zane laughed and rain his fingers through white and black hair.

Danny stiffened and wiped a few greasy hairs out of his face, showing only one of his eyes, the other socket just a dark hole.

"You'll see, Zane, he's gunna kick you so hard, you'll fly out of the ghost zone in less than a minute!"

"I'll do what, now?"

My head, along with Danny's and Zane's, looked to where the voice was coming from. On the couch where Danny had previously been sleeping on, the other Danny with only white hair sat up. He opened his eyes and I was surprised to see that they were a deep red.

Zane froze and didn't speak a word as the red eyed specter floated over to him and inspected his eye socket.

"You two actually went far enough to cause permanent damage to Danny's body? I assumed you knew better than that," Phantom, as they called him, said in a monotonous voice. Zane folded his hands into fists, not happy with how close the ghost was to him.

"Phantom, you know just as much as I do that this body is mine," Zane said, venom dripping from his words. Phantom shrugged in response.

"No, not really. You're just an invader that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. If you hadn't been sucked into the portal when Danny turned it on, you wouldn't have been fused with him, and the only beings inhabiting his body would be him and I," Phantom stated. Zane didn't seem to like this answer and made a lunge, aiming at Phantom's neck.

The teen ghost turned intangible and watched as the other boy fell hard onto the ground. Phantom then spoke in an annoyed tone,

"The body you are now in was meant for only two beings, Danny and I. As a result of an accident, you got fused in along with us. You need to get out of our body and go into the ghost zone, maybe find a different body."

Zane narrowed his eye. "No chance in hell that I'll ever do that! I'm never going back to my life in the ghost zone! Becoming human is something I've wanted for a long time, and with a mortal body, I get closer and closer every minute I'm inside of it!" the intruder countered as he stood back up.

I gazed on as the argument continued, my eyes slowly wandering to Danny, who was also watching the quarrel, with a confused aura about him.

"Phantom, just leave him, he's not going to change his mind," Danny commented, walking over to the couch Clockwork and I were sitting on and grabbing a soft blanket laying on the arm of the furniture. He wrapped it around his waist, obviously not wanting to expose himself any further.

Finally, CW decided to intervene. The time master stood up and floated over to Zane, who backed up at the intrusion of his personal space.

"What do you want, you gezer?" Zane spat out the words in anger. Clockwork ignored the teen's sentence and placed a hand on the boy's contrasted head.

"You're interrupting the time line. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"...No chance in hell."


End file.
